Device for grooving or tapping rubber or other sap-yielding trees.



No. 755,248. YPATBNTED MAR. 2 2,'1904- 4 0. A. SANBORN. DEVIGEFORGROOVING OR-TAPPING RUBBER OR OTHER SAPYIELDING TREES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1903. R0 MODEL.

' z EBEETs-EBEE L .No. 755,248; R IAIBNTED MAR. 22, 1904.

' 0. A. SANBORN. DEVICE FOR. GROOVING 0R TAPPING RUBBER OR OTHER SAPYIELDING TREES.

APPLICATION nun we. 22, 1903. R0 MODEL.

2 BEEETS$HBBT 2.

UNITED STATES Fatented March 22, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE...

CORA A. SANBORN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DEVICE FOR GROOVING R TAPPING RUBBER OR OTHER SAP-YIELDI NG TREES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,248, dated March22, 1904.

Applicati fil d August 22, 1903 Serial No. 170,387- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CoRA A. SAN ORN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago,

' in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices forGrooving or Tapping Rubber or other Sap-Yielding Trees, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The common method at present in vogue for drawing the sap fromrubber-trees is carried out by cutting or slashing a vertical groove orchannel in the bark of the tree, with oblique bran ch grooves orchannels on either side thereof and leading thereto, the sap runningdown said branch and main channels being collected in a receptacle atthe foot of the vertical groove. Heretofore such tapping of these treeshas been performed by very crude instruments,

the device most commonly employed for the.

purpose being the native cutlass machete) of those tropical countries towhich the rub-- servation and proper guidance of the exudingv sap, afurther object of the invention being to provide such an instrument inwhich the cutting-blades may be readily interchanged for the purpose ofcutting either the main vertical groove or the right or left handbranchgrooves, as desired or necessary.

To these and other minor ends the invention consists in a novelinstrument for the purpose described possessing the structural andfunctional characteristics hereinafter more particularly described, andpointed out in the claims. p I

My invention in the preferred form is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, where- Figure 1 is a top plan or back view of the completeinstrument. Fig. 2' is an end view thereof looking in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan or face viewof the upper end or head of the instrument. Fig. 4 is a side or edgeview of the parts shown in Fig. 3 as the latter appears viewed from theleft-hand side thereof. Fig. 5 is a detail edge view of a knife or gougeadapted for the formation of the vertical or central groove or channel.Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one end of the knife-holdinghead-stock, more particularly illustrating the means for engaging theends of the knifeblade. Fig. 7 is an elevational view of the lower ortrunk portion of a tree, illustrating the formation of the grooves orchannels cut therein by the tool of my invention. Fig. 8 is a detailfragmentary view, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the peculiarengagement of the point of the gouge with the groove cut thereby; andFig. 9- is a similar detail in cross-section directly above the point ofthe In its general aspects my invention comprehends the employment of ahead or stock adapted to carry a knife or gouge suitably positionedrelatively thereto to create a groove or channel of the desiredformation, with guide-wheels or rollers which engage the bark of thetree on either side of the gouge and limit the depth of the incision andwith a handle by which the instrumentmay be grasped and drawn over thebark of the tree by the hand or. hands of the operator. In its mostcomplete and preferred form the head or chuck of the tool is adapted toreceive knives or goug'es of difierent angles adapted to the cutting ofthe central vertical channel and of the right and left'hand obliquebranch channels.

Referring to the drawings for a more particular description of themechanical features of the invention, 10 designates the main crossheadof the tool, having mounted .on its opposite extremities rollers 11,while centrally therefrom extends a main handle 12 and at right angles'to the latter a longitudinallybored short handle or knob 13. In thebore of the latter is inserted an externally-threaded stem 14:, carryingon its inner end directly behind the head 10 a knife-holder or chuck 15,which is rendered adjustable toward and from the cross-head 10 by anordinary milled th umbnut 16 engaging the threaded stem l t andconfined'in a slot in the knob or short handle 13.

17 designates a locking-pin, which may be fast in either the cross-head10 or the bladeholder 15, slidably engaging an aperture in the other andserving to prevent relative angular movement between the cross-head andblade-holder, at the same time permitting in and out adjustment of saidparts relatively to each other.

It is the design of the present invention that the chuck or blade-holder15 shall be adapted to receive gouges formed on different angles andadapted to the several different cuts or channels involved in thecomplete tapping of the tree. Accordingly I so form the ends of theholder 15 that they shall present sockets 15, Fig. 6, open at theirlower and closed at their upper or outer ends and adapted to engageslidingly and interlock with backwardlybent or doubled lips on the endsof the angular knives or gouges.

In Figs. 1 to L, inclusive, I have illustrated in connection with theknife-holder and its carriage a knife or gouge adapted for the formationof right-hand oblique or branch channels, such as are shown at B, cut inthe bark of a rubber-tree, (designated byA.) This blade, as shown,comprises in the main two straight cutting-blades 18 and 19, which meetat their outer ends in a comparatively sharp angle or point 20, and, asshown in the several figures of the drawings, these blades are angularlyset relatively to each other not only in planes longitudinally of thecross-head, but also in planes transverselythereof, as best shown inFigs. 3 and 4, whereby in the operation of the instrument the cuttingedge of the shorter blade 19 is always slightly in the lead of thecutting edge of the larger blade 18. The blades 18 and 19 may bethemselves comparatively narrow; but at their inner extremities they arepreferably widened to correspond with the full depth of the sockets 15"of the knifeholder, and these inner ends are suitably bent outward andbackwardly, as shown at 18 18 and 19 and 19", entering the sockets fromthe under side of the knife-holder and embracing the inwardly-bentflange constituting the inner side wall of the socket and abutting attheir upper ends against the upper closed ends of said sockets, thuspreventing any possibility of the gouge being separated from its holderwhen in operation, but permitting its ready detachment for thesubstitution of a gouge of 'a different form. Another constructionalpeculiarity of the blades 18 and 19 resides in the fact that they are,at least throughout the bark penetrating portions thereof, formed withupwardly convergent or retreating sides and an inwardly-retreating lineof junction, as is more particularly illustrated in the detail viewsFigs. 8 and 9. An important advantage flowing from this peculiarity ofconstruction is set out later in the description of the operation.

For the purpose of cutting a lefthand branch groove or channel, such asis illustrated at C in Fig. 7 a knife or gouge similar in all respectsto that last described will be employed, except that the blades 18 and19 will be oppositely inclined relatively to their positions, as shownin Fig. 2, and the cuttingpoint 20 will lie back of the opposite end ofthe cross-head 10.

For cutting the main Vertical channel (indicated at D in Fig. 7) a gougeof the general form illustrated in Fig. 5 will be employed, this gougecomprising a pair of substantially duplicate blades 21, disposed atapproximately a right angle to each other and meeting in a gouging-point22, while their outer free ends are outwardly and backwardly bent, as at21 and 21", to interlockingly fit the sockets of the knife-holder in themanner already described in connection with the obliquely-cuttinggouges.

The piercing points of the several cutters or gouges are preferablylocated in approximately a plane which is normal to the handle 12 andcoincides with the axis of the rollers 11, as best shown in Figs. 3 and4:, thus bringing said rollers into the most favorable position toresist the penetrating tendency of the point of the gouge and confinethe penetration to the distance between said point and the point oftangency of the roller on the bark of 'the tree.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from theforegoing description in connection with the illustration afforded bythe drawings. When a tree is to be tapped, the tool is equipped with theform of gouge shown in Fig. 5, and by first regulating the depth ofpenetration of the gouge to a depth slightly less than the thickness ofthe bark in order not to kill the tree the tool is applied to thesurface of the tree and drawn straight downwardly, thus at a singleoperation effecting the cutting of the main vertical channel D. Thatdone, this gouge is slipped out of the holder and another of the formshown in Figs. 1 to 4 or its converse is inserted, and having beenproperly adjusted as to depth by manipulating the thumb-nut 16 the rightor left hand oblique branch channels B and C may be formed each by asingle stroke in the same manner.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by my present invention Iprovide an eflicient and easily-manipulated tool by which the rcwouldtend to sear over and heal the walls of the groove and materially checkthe flow of sap. This construction also renders the gougeself-penetrating under the pull imparted to the handle. It will also beobserved that the tool cuts the branch channels with both walls thereofinclined upwardly at different degrees of inclination from the linemarking the convergence of said walls or the base of the channel,whereby the stream of sap flowing therethrough is retained and preventedfrom overflowing the side of the channel and running to waste down thebark of the tree.

Where the gouges are not set too deep, the instrument can ordinarily beeffectively manipulated by simply drawing it downwardly by the handle12; but Where the gouges are set deeper, as in tapping older treeshaving thicker bark, the shorter handle or knob 13,

which may be grasped by the other hand of the operator, will be found avaluable adjunct in the manipulation of the instrument.

It is evident that the novel implement herein described and shown asconstituting an embodiment of my invention might be varied to aconsiderable extent in respect to the specific details of structure andrelative arrangement of the parts without departing from the principleor sacrificing any of the advantages thereof. Hence I do not limit theinvention to such detail features except to the extent that they aremade the subject of specific claims.

I claim.

1. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with across-head and an operating-handle, of a V-shaped gouge secured to saidcross-head, and guides carried by the cross-head adapted to engage thesurface of the tree on either side of the gouge to limit the penetrationof the latter, substantially as described.

2. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with across-head and an operating-handle, of a V-shaped gouge secured to saidcross-head, and rollers mounted on the ends of the cross-head andadapted to engage the surface of the tree on either side of the gouge tolimit the penetration of the latter, substantially as described.

3. In an instrument for the purpose described, thecombination with across-head and an operating-handle, of a gouge-holdermounted on saidcross-head, and a gouge, said gougeholder and gouge being provided withintegral interlocking parts, respectively, substan-- tially asdescribed.

' 4:. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with-across-head and an operating-handle, of a gouge-holder mounted onsaid-cross-head, and a gouge, said gougeholder and gouge being providedwith integral interlocking parts, respectively, and guides carried bythe cross-head adapted to lie in contact with the surface of the tree oneither side of the gouge to limit the penetra tion of the latter,substantially as described.

.5. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with across-head'and a main operating-handle extending downwardly therefrom,of an auxiliary handle ex' tending outwardly or rearwardly therefrom,substantially at right angles to said main handle, a gouge-holder havinga stem mounted in said cross-head and auxiliary handle, and a gougeremovably carried by said gouge-holder, substantially as described.

6. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with across-head and a main operating handle extending downwardly therefrom,of an auxiliary handle extending outwardly or rearwardly therefrom, agouge-holder having a stem mounted in said cross-head and auxiliaryhandle, means for effecting the longitudinal adjustment of said stem inits support, and a gouge removably carried by said gouge-holder,substantially as described.

7. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with across-head and a main operating handle extending downwardly therefrom,of a transversely-slotted auxiliary handle extending outwardly orrearwardly therefrom, a gouge holder having a threaded stem mounted insaid cross-head and auxiliary handle,a gouge removably carried by saidgouge holder, an internally-threaded thumb-nut mounted on said threadedstem and confined in the slot of the auxiliary handle, and means forpreventing the rotation of the gouge-holder while permitting its in andout adjustment relatively to the cross-head, substantially as described.V

.8. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with across-head and guide-rollers rotatably mounted on the opposite endsthereof, of an operating-handle extending downwardly from saidcross-head, a gouge-holder mounted in said cross-head and adjustabletoward and from the same in a direction substantially at right. anglesto the handle, and a generally V-shaped gouge removably carried by saidgouge-holder and having its penetrating point disposed substantially ina plane determined by the axis of said guide-rollers and the points oftangency of the latter upon the object subjected to the operation of thedevice, substantially as described.

9. In an instrument for the purpose described, the combination with aV-shaped the point of the gouge, of means Connected thereto to renderthe same manually operable I in grooving the bark of a tree,substantially 1 as described.

CORA A. SANBORN. Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. POND, FREDERICK O. Goonwm.

